IEM Sydney 2018 Returns, Tickets On Sale

IEM Sydney was a huge success last year, pitting eight of the best Counter-Strike GO teams from around the world against one another for glory and prizes. ESL Australia has revealed that it will be returning again this year, featuring twice as many teams, $50,000 extra prize money and an extra day of competitive excellence.

From May 4th through May 6th, 16 of the best Counter-Strike GO teams in the world will descend upon Sydney to compete for $250,000 USD (~$310,000 AUD) in prize money. The event will return to the Qudos Bank Arena again for three days of epic action, and will again showcase some of the best Australia has to offer for esports fans. The festival around last year's event featured matches in other games like SMITE and Rocket League as well as VR demonstrations and more -- this year's IEM Sydney will be the same.

Coldzera among others competed at IEM 2017

"Last year’s IEM Sydney event marked a watershed moment for the landscape of Australian esports, proving that this region has a huge appetite for the best esports content,” said Nick Vanzetti, Managing Director at ESL Australia. “Fans turned up in droves to experience the magic of the arena spectacle; the competition on stage was fierce and the crowd was electric. In Australia, the esports audience is growing exponentially year on year, and IEM Sydney 2018 hopes to raise the bar once again for fans and spectators the world over.”

Tickets are on sale at Ticketek and start at $40 per day. The competing teams have yet to be confirmed, although it's fair to assume there will be more Australian teams in the mix this time thanks to the increase in tournament spots.

Joab Gilroy is an Australian-based freelancer that specialises in competitive online games and chicken dinner acquisition. You can tweet at him here.